Athens - A Space Opera Colonization Adventure (Aeon 14: Building new Canaan) by M. D. Cooper & J.J. Green

Author:M. D. Cooper & J.J. Green [Cooper, M. D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw
Publisher: The Wooden Pen Press
Published: 2019-03-27T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

STELLAR DATE: 05.12.8942 (Adjusted Years)

LOCATION: Near Mount Poros

REGION: Athens, New Canaan System

“I can’t see anywhere to land,” said Lark.

It was hard to see anything at all. Dusk had fallen, and the low light compounded with the clouds of smoke made the darkness complete. All was black except for the distant orange glow of lava and the flashes of lightning dancing above the craggy remains of the volcano’s mouth.

Lark had to rely entirely on the skiff’s instruments to see the ground. According to what Isa could read from the display, a mess of hot rocks and treacherous pits of smoldering dust and ash lay beneath them.

“What about trying to land farther away from the eruption?” Isa suggested. “We can walk in.”

Lark nodded. “That’s a better idea. I don’t want to risk the skiff being hit by any debris. He’s still growling and he won’t be stopping anytime soon. I’ll redirect the drones too.” She banked the skiff to the left and turned one hundred and eighty degrees, heading away from the scene of devastation.

Can Erin really be alive somewhere down there?

Isa knew that, logically, the chances were slim to impossible. But she wasn’t operating on logic. What she was operating on, she didn’t know. Maybe her motivation was only an inability or stubborn refusal to accept Erin’s death. Whatever it was, she couldn’t help it. She had to look for her wife.

Lark managed to land the vessel a little over a kilometer away from Erin’s last known location. She directed Isa to put on her heat-resistant suit, and got dressed quickly herself. Then she climbed out of the skiff to go to the drones and unload the equipment she’d sent down.

As she was putting on her suit, Isa saw, out of the corner of her eye, one of the two bulky contraptions Lark had unloaded rise up. She looked closer and saw the equipment’s parts slot into place. Her eyes widened in recognition. Lark had brought along exoskeletons similar to the ones miners used occasionally to move around chunks of ore.

<I’ll explain the controls after you get in,> said Lark, speaking over the Link now that she was helmeted.

<I think I’ll be okay.> Isa replied. <I’ve used something like that before.>

<You have? I thought you were an artist.>

Isa’s throat swelled with emotion. Lark would only know that because Erin had told her. Erin had probably exaggerated how good Isa was, as usual.

<I am,> she replied, <but I used to be a miner.>

<Ah, okay. In that case, you shouldn’t have any problems. Climb in.>

When Isa had clambered aboard the exoskeleton and settled herself into the seat, the device’s screen dropped down. Her suit’s HUD disappeared to be replaced with the same data on the new screen. The information stated that local atmosphere wasn’t survivable without specialized equipment, but Isa was undeterred.

<Let’s go,> she said firmly.

Lark led the way toward the volcano, her exo’s legs powering over the uneven landscape. Isa’s machine rocked as it carried her along, but its motion was smooth and steady, unlike the old, under-serviced, jerky equipment she’d operated in the past.

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